Spirits Shared (5 page)

He scrubbed his hands over his face then
speared his fingers through his hair and jerked. How many more ways
was he going to screw up today?

His heart demanded that he go to Jessica
even if it meant standing bare-assed naked in the cold, but his
head—the big one that was actually doing the thinking despite what
his dick was saying—said maybe he needed to take a minute to find
out what the hell was going on here. Maybe it'd be smart to give
her some time. It wasn't like she hadn't responded when she was
grabbed and kissed.

He dropped his hands to his sides. "You're
Tekoa?"

"Yes."

He must have heard the name sometime after
the wreck. What he
hadn't
seen was an old man squatting in
front of a fire. What he
hadn't
heard was that old guy
telling him Tekoa's name and saying he was meant to be their
third.

Still, be couldn't shake the rightness, the
feeling that everything that had happened today had led to this
moment, this place, this man. But maybe he was still concussed and
having the mother of all erotic dreams.

Jess was the one with the imagination. She
was the one who liked the metaphysical stuff.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. Didn't
feel like he was still concussed. In fact, he felt pretty damn
fine.

That had his heart taking off in a sprint.
Had him shivering at the sudden slide of ice down his spine. When
his cousin Selina had told him about this area, she'd said,
It's
magical.

Yeah. Right. Not going there. Except here he
was standing buck-naked with a boner in front of a guy wearing a
loincloth and sporting a hard-on. A guy who'd kissed Jess like she
already belonged to him. A guy Jess wanted.

"I owe you, but… Fuck. I don't want Jess
hurt. It was a tough day
before
the car went off the road.
So lay off. Okay? Don't push her." Christ, he couldn't believe he
was still hard. "Fuck."

"We'll get to that." Tekoa glanced toward
the cabin door. "You need some clothes. And she's probably ready
for some reassurance." Lifting a wooden cup from the mantel above
the fireplace, he said, "Drink this first."

* * * * *

Chapter
3

Clay took the offered cup. Honey-warm liquid
slid down his throat and the warmth it generated was like what he'd
experienced before he'd opened his eyes in the waking dream.

He wanted to reach for his cock. Fuck, he
wanted to reach for Tekoa's. The need and desire were beyond
anything he'd ever felt for another man. It nearly drove him to his
knees. It nearly had him drawing Tekoa forward, guiding him
downward.

Heat shuddered through Clay. "You drugged
me."

Tekoa laughed. "Hardly. My constituents
wouldn't be happy with me if I did that."

"Constituents?" He set the empty cup on the
mantel, and for a heartbeat was mesmerized by the Thunderbird
carved into the rich wood.

"I'm sheriff here."

"And healer?"

"Not usually. But for you and Jessica, yes.
The land brought the two of you here, but we can take it slow."

Clay's cock jerked in warning and this time
he couldn't keep from taking it in hand to appease the ache. He
didn't stroke. He wanted to, had to fight against it, but he didn't
dare risk it. Having another guy looking at his dick, looking at
his hand on his dick was nearly enough to make him go off.

He couldn't, not yet. Not until things were
right between him and Jess. She had to come first, literally and
figuratively. If she accepted Tekoa on her side of the bed then she
would accept Tekoa on
his
side.

Tekoa's eyes heated and color highlighted
his cheek bones. Clay's hand tightened on his shaft.

"I've got some sweats you can wear," Tekoa
said, moving to a dresser.

Clay smiled at Tekoa's rapid escape. He
might be naked and hard but at least he wasn't suffering alone.

He glanced down at where his hand encircled
his dick. Yeah, he'd always been one to grab for the brass ring
when it presented itself, but right now it felt like he was wearing
a cock ring.

It took concentration and willpower to peel
his hand off his dick one finger at a time. He managed it.
Barely.

Tekoa tossed him the sweats. He snagged them
and tugged them on, his cock leaking against the soft fabric.

A navy blue T-shirt followed. He pulled it
on, his balls going tight because apparently wearing clothes that
smelled like Tekoa and had been against Tekoa's naked skin did it
for him.

He wasn't sure he could handle learning
anything else new about himself today.

Tekoa came back to the rug in front of the
fireplace and lifted a second cup from the mantel. "Get her to
drink this. She was hurt too, but I could only do so much to heal
her during the sing. I'll be dressed when you two come back in.
Maybe we can play cards or something, spend some time getting to
know each other."

Clay took the cup. There was need in Tekoa's
eyes, the same aching desire to be with another man that had his
chest and balls and cock burning. But there was also a willingness
to wait, to take it slow. It wasn't only about the two of them, it
was also about Jessica.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Jess likes to
play cards." He took a deep breath. Not that he wanted to delve
into the whole healing thing, or the old man rolling a cigarette,
and there was no point in going into details about the idiot-move
of coming out to Jessica in the car, but Tekoa needed to understand
where things stood. "She didn't know I was bi until today. She's
trying to find a way to handle it. And she's still wearing the
engagement ring. That's something."

His hand tightened on the cup. It'd turned
him on to see Jessica's body go soft and yielding as another man
took her lips, but it'd pissed him off too. Jess wasn't a casual
conquest and he wouldn't share her easily. "She's fragile right
now. I won't let you near her if you're looking to fuck a couple of
stranded tourists until they head back home."

Anger flashed in Tekoa's eyes like a deadly
lightning strike. "I'm not looking for a quick, meaningless
fuck."

Clay exhaled and gave a nod. He felt the
truth in Tekoa's words though he didn't intend to explore the
metaphysical stuff that swirled around them like a dense fog. He'd
leave that to Jess. Going with his gut had always worked for him.
Grabbing at the brass ring when it presented itself was more his
style. "I'll go check on Jess."

"Give her the cup. It's important that she
drink its contents."

"Sure. First thing." And fuck if he didn't
want to lean forward and kiss Tekoa before he left the cabin.
Christ, he was hard.

He joined Jessica on the porch. She glanced
at him then went back to staring into the night.

Rain struck the ground in a steady beat and
the cold air smelled of wet dirt and cedar. Ache spasmed through
his chest.

He needed to make this right. For most of
the day that'd been his mantra.

She shivered and he wished he'd grabbed
Tekoa's jacket from the peg next to the door so he could put it
around her. He offered the cup. "Drink this, Jess. It'll warm you
up. Guaranteed."

She reached for it, her fingers lingering on
his, easing some of the ache. She took the cup and drank.

"What was that?" she asked, the husky timbre
of her voice enough to have his cock pulsing and another bead of
arousal soaking into Tekoa's sweats.

"Don't know. Something to go with the
healing." He took the cup from her and placed it on the porch rail.
"That was pretty cool, wasn't it? Shades of Tony Hillerman. Maybe
you can work it into your next story."

"Maybe."

"Jess…" He put his hands on her sides and
pulled her to him so their bodies were flush.

She stiffened at the feel of his erection,
but he was braced for that reaction. He refused to let it hurt.
This had to be about her, not about him.

He rubbed his cock against her mound. "If I
weren't afraid of him catching pneumonia after all he's been
through today, I'd push these sweats down so he could greet you
properly."

She smiled against his neck and his heart
lifted into his throat. He stroked his hands down her back and she
slid her arms around his waist.

Pleasure slammed his eyes closed. It was
going to be all right.
They
were going to be all right.
"Let's go inside and get to know each other. Or if it'd make you
feel better, we can ask Tekoa to take us to the nearest town with a
hotel. Hell, maybe there's a place to rent rooms in Hohoq."

"You don't really want to leave."

He rubbed his cheek against her
rain-dampened hair. "No."

He fucked his tongue into her ear and her
little moan had his cock banging against Tekoa's sweats. He wanted
to lay her down and make love to her. Alone, with Tekoa. Either or
both worked for him. He captured her earlobe and sucked, his heart
lifting and leveling off at having her hands push under the T-shirt
and her palms press to his back.

"Do you want to leave, Jess?"

The slight shake of her head had his chest
swelling. He rubbed his cheek against hers then pulled back to met
her eyes.

"We're safe, we're dry. It doesn't make
sense to do anything about the car until tomorrow. You're attracted
to him, Jess. I'm attracted to him. Why not see where it goes?"

She tried to look away but he gripped her
hair and kept her from avoiding the question. "No hiding from the
truth, Jess. No secrets. That's the only way it could work. So I'll
go first. It turned me on to see him kissing you. It made me harder
seeing you go soft and submissive the same way you do for me."

He cupped her breast with his other hand,
rubbed his palm over the hard point of her shirt-covered nipple.
"At least admit you're attracted to him."

And if I do?
Jessica thought, her
heart thundering harder and her sex getting wetter. She already
burned and ached with a need that was so primal she wanted to push
her panties down and beg Clay to fill her with his cock.

She could claim it was nothing more than
reacting to the fear of losing him. Or that something in the drink
had heightened the need. Both would be true, but they weren't the
only reason she felt so needy, so desperate for Clay to make love
to her and reassure her with the thrust of his cock.

It scared her, how easily, how quickly she'd
responded to Tekoa when he caught and kissed her. Thoughts of Clay
had fled. Her resistance to giving herself to another man had
vanished. Her worries about the future had been obliterated.

It unnerved her, how easy it was to imagine
spreading her legs and letting Tekoa push his cock deep inside her.
When he'd kissed her…

She shivered. She still wanted more of Tekoa
than that press of lips and quick stroke of tongues.

"Admit it, Jess," Clay said, his voice
husky. "Admit you're attracted to him."

She couldn't fight his need and her own. Her
heart pounded hard and fast, as if she was running down the side of
a mountain and about to launch herself off and hang glide. "I admit
it."

Clay's hands tightened on her hair and
breast, possessive and at the same time rewarding her honesty with
pleasure that had heat pooling in her stomach and more arousal
wetting her panties.

"We'll only take this as far as you're
comfortable taking it."

His mouth took hers. Each stroke and twine
of his tongue with hers built the need to feel naked skin against
naked skin, to have him on her, in her.

How far would they go tonight? She didn't
know.

She only knew that she didn't want to lose
him, that she was willing to stay here, to go back into the cabin,
to spend time with Tekoa.

Clay ended the kiss, stared into her eyes,
not hiding his need or his desire. "How about we get inside before
Tekoa has to do another healing ceremony?"

She nodded, glanced at the porch railing,
intending to pick up the cup, but it wasn't there. Clay leaned over
to peer at the ground. "Must have fallen off and rolled somewhere.
I don't see it. Let's get you inside, Jess, then I'll look for
it."

They stepped into the cabin. Her eyes went
immediately to Tekoa.

He'd pulled on jeans and put on a hunter
green flannel shirt but his feet were bare. He looked less like a
warrior who'd stepped out of the past, but still very much like a
man capable of defending his family and serving justice.

Strength radiated from him, internal and
external, like what poured off Clay, but different, and no less
appealing. Their eyes met, the heat in his was banked, offering
friendship that would flare into lovemaking with the least bit of
provocation.

Admit you're attracted to him.

I admit it.

She kept her gaze from straying to the bed
but couldn't keep her pulse from speeding at what might happen
there. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, she dried suddenly damp palms
and gave a little tug though the shirt covered her panties.

Clay reached for the jacket next to the door
and Tekoa said, "What's up?"

"The cup fell off the porch and rolled.
Couldn't see where it went."

"Don't worry about it. Crash in front of the
fire with Jessica. You guys want something to eat? It's bachelor
cooking but I haven't died of food poisoning or killed anyone with
it yet."

His self-deprecating smile melted bands of
tension she hadn't been fully aware of. They dissolved, allowing
for a deep breath. She could do this, get to know him, push
thoughts of what might come next into the background.

Smoothing her hands against her shirt tail,
she said, "Let me help."

Tekoa's smile became a mesmerizing sunrise.
God he was gorgeous, so very gorgeous.

He made a sweeping gesture toward the
kitchen area. "It's all yours."